< 1 minute read‘I’m gangly, awkward-looking and appear to be halfway through swallowing a Rubik’s cube – how could I make myself look worse?’ This, presumably, is the thinking behind Ishant Sharma’s strange, effeminate mane. Good bowler, great slower ball, but it’s a dire situation indeed when going back to a mullet would
Continue readingCategory: India
You’re reading about the Test when there’s Twenty20 on?
< 1 minute readThere are two articles. One says Twenty20’s clearly going to kill Test cricket. One says that probably, on balance, that won’t happen. Newspaper editors will tend to publish the first one. The former’s punchier and it provokes debate, so we get to read a disproportionate number of articles about how
Continue readingRicky Ponting isn’t a different batsman when he’s in India
< 1 minute readThe thing people often fail to understand about batting averages is that they only describe what’s already happened. Ricky Ponting’s average in India was famously bad, but yet he hit a hundred. That’s the thing about historical precedents – they only tell you about the past. The Australians came up
Continue readingWho to support – India or Australia?
< 1 minute readWe know that there are a number of English readers out there who are having trouble picking sides for this series, so we thought we’d help you out. Normally this would be an easy one. You never want to support Australia, whoever they’re playing, because they’re the best. You usually
Continue readingSourav Ganguly taking his bat in
< 1 minute readNo-one ever slinks out the back door, do they? They give you four Tests’ notice so that they can be lauded to the high heavens for a month. Some players don’t even get four Tests in their careers, but now there are retirement articles about players who’ve still got that
Continue readingVirender Sehwag gives his verdict on Jason Krejza
< 1 minute read“I think we will go after him.” Run, Jason. Run! There’s nothing left for you in India. Grab your passport and enough rupees to get you to the airport and just flee. You’re a marked man. Virender Sehwag doesn’t do milking the spinners. If he wants spin-milk, he’s going right
Continue readingIndia practice ‘clown tactics’
< 1 minute read“So I curl up behind him like this and then you give him a shove.” India’s clown tactics were all well and good in theory, but when it came to carrying them out with an actual batsman present, everyone got confused and Sourav Ganguly ended up with a black eye.
Continue readingWhen is a country too dangerous to tour?
2 minute readTim May, chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers Associations, explains why Australia are likely to tour India, but wouldn’t visit Pakistan (like usual) for the Champions Trophy: “Pakistan has had 66 suicide bombings within its country over the past 12 months with over 3,000 people killed and 17
Continue readingIndia’s dog turd fixture list
< 1 minute readIf you want to see the technology of tomorrow, today: go to Japan. If you want to see the cricketing fixture lists of tomorrow, today: look to India. India have never played a home Test against Bangladesh, despite the latter being a Test team since 2000. They don’t want to,
Continue readingZaheer Khan wins an ODI with the ball
< 1 minute readAnother one-day international is decided with the ball. Huzzah. It went the other way this time, however. Zaheer Khan took 4-21 and Sri Lanka crumpled like a supermarket receipt to 142 all out. We’re increasingly thinking that if there’s swing, you want Zaheer Khan in your side. Bowlers continued to
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